Bank of Ireland has surprised the market with the appointment of Mr Michael Soden, one of the most senior executives at National Australia Bank (NAB), as its new chief executive.

Mr Soden (54) is originally from Dublin but has spent most of his career working in London, Canada, the US and Australia. He will join the bank as chief executive-designate in September and succeed Mr Maurice Keane when he retires in February 2002.

Mr Soden currently heads NAB's international retail banking operations, which includes National Irish Bank, Northern Bank, the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks in Britain and the Bank of New Zealand. He is the bank's second most senior executive next to chief executive Mr Frank Cicutto.

His appointment comes at a time of consolidation in the financial services sector and signals a desire by the court of directors to broaden its international operations. The bank has a long tradition of appointing outsiders to the top job but this is the first time it has brought an international banker on board. Announcing the appointment, Bank of Ireland governor, Mr Laurence Crowley, said Mr Soden possessed a range of international banking skills that were perfectly matched to the needs of the group in the current challenging climate. "I and my fellow directors believe Mr Soden will lead the group to further significant achievements, both domestically and internationally," he said.

Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Soden said he had received a surprise approach from Mr Crowley last April to ask him to consider the job. "I am delighted to be coming home. I couldn't have dreamed of anything as exciting and fulfilling from a career prospective," he said.

Bank of Ireland is about half the size of the National Australia Group. Its business activities are now focused largely in Ireland and Britain.

On his decision to move to a smaller bank, Mr Soden said: "It's better to be a big fish in a smaller pond than the number two in a big organisation."

The incoming chief executive said he did not have any preconceived ideas about what was being done right or wrong in Bank of Ireland at the moment and would not comment on any likely changes. "Bank of Ireland is an exceptionally well-run bank with a strong balance sheet." Mr Soden said the circumstances were just right for he and his wife finally to settle in Ireland.

His parents emigrated to the US but returned to Ireland where he completed his education. Mr Soden attended Blackrock College in Dublin and University College Dublin before moving to Canada in the 1970s to work with Shell.

He was headhunted to return to Ireland to work as a loan executive at ICC Bank and later took over as manager of the Cork office of the US group Citibank. In 1977, he began an international career with the bank working in London, Oslo, New York and Canada. He joined Security Pacific in 1985 to establish Hoare Govett. He was appointed managing director and chief executive in 1989.

After a particularly good performance in 1989, Mr Soden was paid a substantial amount of money and decided to retire. "I had no intention of ever working again. I spent that time doing what I had always wanted to do; I played golf and travelled."

In 1994, he was asked by the then chief executive of National Australia Bank, Mr Don Argus, to run the bank's treasury and wholesale banking operations in Europe, based in London. In 2000, he moved to his current job with responsibility for 31,000 employees and more than eight million customers in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Ireland and Britain.